Crafting The Perfect Headline & Description

Search ads are matched to buyer intent, which means they are perfect for targeting consumers who are at the bottom of the funnel. With search ads, the best way to target active users and buyers is with optimizied headlines. 

The headline is the most crucial element of your advertisement because 80% of users will only read the headlines and decide if they want to learn more or click based on them alone. 

You only have a limited number of characters to work with for your ad headlines, so you need to strategically write headlines that attract attention and display value to users. While there is no clear method for writing Google ad headlines, we’ve created some tips to help you.

Strategically Use Keywords

Keywords play a major role in your headlines, the words you use need to match user intent and show users that your offerings match the solution they are searching for.

Your headlines (as well as descriptions and display paths), should contain keywords that match the user’s intent and demonstrate how your products and services are a good fit for the problem they are trying to solve. In comparison to a blog article or website, Google headlines position keywords slightly differently. By using the language and search words the audience uses you give them the confidence of knowing that they are in the right place.

By demonstrating that your advertising is relevant to queries, utilizing strategic keywords increases ad relevance and quality score. Make sure the link between the client’s search query and your advertisement is completely evident.

Keyword Placement

Once you have identified the keywords you want to focus on in your headlines, you can write copy that incorporates a mix of the keywords. This allows the organization to create more variations while keeping every headline relevant.

When you are creating headlines that incorporate the most important keywords, we recommend that you use 1-2 of them in each headline. When identifying the placement of keywords in the ads and headlines, try adding the keyword to the URL slug, headline 1, and ensure you have a CTA in either headline 2 or 3.

One of the best parts about Google ads is they allow you to add up to 15 headlines that can be mixed for different ad versions. Every ad should have multiple headline variations that explain benefits and value to the reader. 

Matching Headlines To Descriptions And Landing Pages

Powerful headlines are vital to an effective ad, but if you get the users’ attention with the headline and the rest of the copy and the landing page you bring them to don’t match you will lose the user.

The consistency of your landing page with the rest of your campaign should be one of your top concerns. Customers should be able to determine as quickly as your page loads that they are in the right place. This is an important tip to keep in mind while creating your landing page’s layout as well as headlines. Your ad copy should give the user more information about the benefits you offer and mirror what you summarize in the headline.

Additionally, the landing page needs to echo the search intent and keywords that are in the copy. If you have multiple keywords throughout the ad group, use the highest-volume keywords in the headline, then use the other keywords naturally throughout the copy and main text of the landing page.

Keep Headlines Clear And Concise

As we mentioned, users that will click on ads are looking for a solution to their problem and have high intent to purchase or learn more about the solution. A user that is searching for a lower insurance rate won’t search for “car insurance”. Those searches will give them a long list of blogs, articles, and companies that offer insurance.

That user is much more likely to search for something like “lowering my insurance rate”, a business that wants to grab their attention should make ads that specifically address their solution to giving users less expensive insurance.

A headline that clearly states benefits in as few words as possible will be much more likely to convert searchers into customers. Including keywords that are search specific along with wording that gets to the point of the ad create powerful headlines.

You have less than 5 seconds to get the attention of the user, this means you need to display value to the user in as few words as possible. If the headline is too specific or long the user will skip your ad and move to the headline that is easier to understand.

Be sure that your headlines, ad copy, and landing page are specific and clearly tell the searcher that they’ve found what they’re looking for. It’s not your intention to amuse readers, think of the next great joke, or guide them through introspective thought processes with your poetic imagery. Getting your point across, communicating value, and creating the maximum conversion opportunities is the objective. However, it’s equally crucial to utilize straightforward language that establishes standards for the remainder of the content.

Include a CTA (Call-To-Action)

The call to action is one of the most important parts of a headline. Your call to action, or CTA, in marketing terms, is the section of your advertisement that instructs your target market on what they should do after clicking on your PPC ad and arriving at your website or landing page. The ultimate goal of any ad is to get users to take your desired action. Whatever that action is, make sure it’s clear in your headline.

Every headline should include an action word like “buy”, “shop”, “sign up”, or “Try”. The wording you use for your CTA depends on what the business is offering, but it is vital to tell the user the steps they need to take. Making effective calls to action is crucial—and can be very challenging. You must be completely clear on who you want to reach out to, what you would like them to be doing, why they need to do it, how they’ll actually go about doing it, and exactly where on your site they should do so.

Most used CTAs according to WordStream

Depending on what the business is selling, the phrasing of your CTA will vary, but it’s imperative to make clear to the user what action they must take. Any landing page must include a compelling call to action (CTA), but it can also serve as the basis for your headline. For events, rentals, and sports, this approach works great. But it can be used whenever you want to motivate quick action, such as signing up for a course or completing a lead generation form to receive gated content.

Additionally, keep in mind that no particular CTA is best for all niches or types of business. The most effective calls to action use both reasoning and feeling to increase conversion. CTA’s show users what they need to do the get the benefits you are offering, if you don’t include one the user might be confused or move to the next ad entirely.